QU Women’s Basketball Shoots Their Way Past Monmouth, Snapping Two-Game Losing Streak

Saturday, February 4

Hamden, CT

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

18-6, 11-3MAAC

Monmouth

10-12, 5-8MAAC

Monmouth

Quinnipiac

QU Women’s Basketball Shoots Their Way Past Monmouth, Snapping Two-Game Losing Streak

2/4/2017 5:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Bobcats Bury Season High 13 Three-Pointers, Their Highest Single-Game Total in a 60-Game Span

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – A three-point barrage that saw the Quinnipiac women's basketball team can a season high 13 triples proved way too much for Monmouth to overcome as the Bobcats snapped a two-game losing streak to defeat the Hawks, 74-54, from the TD Bank Sports Center on Saturday.

Having dropped two straight MAAC games for just the third time since joining the league in 2013-14, Quinnipiac came in needing to navigate through some uncharted territory and a season high 13 three-pointers was just what the doctor ordered.

Burying the 13 triples made life easier on a Bobcat squad that still struggled from the floor (25-73 FG, 34.2 percent) including 12-for-47 (25.5 percent) from two-point range but still managed to record a 20-point win over a Monmouth team that had already defeated Quinnipiac earlier this season, 61-58, in West Long Branch on Jan. 19.

In the midst of the two-game skid, Quinnipiac suffered through two of their worst offensive outings of the season as the Bobcats shot a combined 36-for-108 (33.3 percent) overall and 6-for-47 (12.8 percent) from three in a pair of losses to Iona (58-44) and Fairfield (65-52) away from home. With an undefeated 6-0 mark at home in conference play, the Bobcats' three-point prowess on the day was unique in that Quinnipiac finished with their most made three-pointers (13) in a game since burying the same amount in a 2014 MAAC Quarterfinal victory over Monmouth on March 6, 2015 (60 games ago).

Starting slow once again, Quinnipiac went just 1-of-8 to start the game but held the dangerous Monmouth shooters at bay as the score was just 4-2 in favor of the Hawks after the first 4:25 of play. With the Bobcat defense continuing to compete at an elite level, shots suddenly began to fall midway through the opening stanza kickstarted by a Sarah Shewan (Russell, Ontario) triple from the wing.

Shewan's three-point make was a sign of things to come as Morgan Manz (Southbury, Connecticut) followed that up with a three from the corner while Carly Fabbri (Stratford, Connecticut) drained a triple to open up an 11-4 lead for the Bobcats. Shewan later added her second three-point make in the waning minutes of the frame as the Bobcats finished the first quarter with as many three-point makes (four) as they had through the entire 65-52 loss at Fairfield on Thursday.

Monmouth cut into the Bobcat lead as the margin was down to four in the early stages of the second quarter but a quick 7-0 burst from Quinnipiac, highlighted by another Fabbri triple, pushed the gap back up to 11. The Hawks again cut the lead down to as few as six with 3:28 remaining in the first half but a dominating span in which Quinnipiac outscored Monmouth, 13-2, paved the way for a big 39-22 lead at the half.

Igniting the 11-point swing were three three-pointers as Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut), Paula Strautmane (Riga, Latvia) and Jen Fay (Lynbrook, New York) each buried a three-point basket before the halftime buzzer sounded. Through the first 20 minutes of play, Quinnipiac shot 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from three-point range while six different Bobcats hit at least one basket from downtown in the opening two periods.

Quinnipiac's lead was never threatened in the second half of play as the Bobcats continued to lock down on the defensive end, holding the third-highest scoring offense in the MAAC (66.3 PPG) to their third-lowest output of the season (54 points) including a 3-for-15 effort in the third quarter alone.

Stretching their lead to as many as 30 points late in the fourth quarter, Monmouth closed strong riding a 12-2 run before the final buzzer to make the 74-54 final score less one-sided than the play was throughout.

Strautmane was the best player on the floor all afternoon as the sophomore recorded her fifth career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) while adding a career high six blocks and four assists in 25 minutes. A key cog in the team's success this season, Strautmane is averaging 10.2 PPG (46.3 FG%) and 5.8 RPG in the Bobcats' 18 victories compared to 3.8 PPG (18.4 FG%) and 4.7 RPG in the team's six losses in 2016-17.

Martucci broke through with 15 points to lead all scorers as she finished 5-of-12 from the floor while adding five rebounds and matching her career high with five steals. Martucci broke a five-game streak in which she failed to reach double figures with her third-highest output of the season and her most points in a single-game since notching 15 back on Dec. 30 in a win at Rider (nine games ago).

Another productive player on the afternoon was Shewan as the junior forward finished with a great all-around shooting performance (5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2-2 FT) on her way to 14 points with five rebounds in 18 minutes. Shewan reached double figures for the second time in three games and just the fifth time all season.

Manz put together solid stat line with nine points (3-5 3FG), seven rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes while Fay posted eight points and five rebounds and Aryn McClure (Springfield Gardens, New York) chipped in with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

After going for 20 points in their win over the Bobcats earlier this season, Monmouth's freshman guard Kayla Shaw was held in-check throughout as the rookie tallied just three points on three shot attempts while turning the ball over three times in 20 minutes. For Shaw, the 2016-17 MAAC Rookie of the Year contender finished with a season-low three points against the smothering Bobcat defense.

Fresh off the convincing victory, the Bobcats look to build some late season momentum on Thursday as Quinnipiac welcomes Marist for the first meeting of the season between the two traditional MAAC powers. The game will be televised live on ESPN3 with a 5 PM tip-off.